Display button

ABSTRACT

A DISPLAY BUTTOM COMPRISING ONLY TWO SEPARATE COMPONENTS, A PIN STRUCTURE BY MEANS OF WHICH A BUTTOM MAY BE ATTACHED TO A GARMENT OR OTHER OBJECTS, AND A BUTTON BLANK, FORMED FROM SUFFICIENTLY RIGID SHEET MATERIAL, HAVING A BODY PORTION WITH A PERIPHERAL CONFIGURATION CORRESPONDING TO THE DESIRED SHAPE OF THE ULTIMATE DISPLAY BUTTON AND A PIN RETAINING MEMBER INTEGRALLY CONNECTED WITH AND FORMED FROM THE SAME SHEET MATERIAL AS THE BODY PORTION, THE PIN STRUCTURE, FORMED FROM WIRE STOCK HAVING A MOUNTING PORTION, A PIN PORTION PROVIDED WITH A FREE POINTED END AND CONNECTED AT ITS OPPOSITE END TO ONE END OF THE MOUNTING PORTION, THE OPPOSITE END OF THE MOUNTING PORTION HAVING A CLASP PORTION COOPERABLE WITH THE POINTED END OF THE PIN STRUCTURE WHICH THE PORTION OF THE PIN OPENINGS THEREIN THROUGH WHICH THE PORTION AND THE MOUNTING STRUCTURE CONNECTING THE PIN PORTION AND THE MOUNTING PORTION, AND THE CLASP PORTION MAY EXTEND, SAID RETAINING   MEMBER BEING FOLDED BACK AT ITS CONNECTION WITH THE BODY TO ADJACENT THE REAR FACE OF THE LATTER WITH THE MOUNTING PORTION OF SAID PIN STRUCTURE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID RETAINING MEMBER AND SAID REAR FACE. THE SPACED OPENINGS THROUGH WHICH THE RESPECTIVE PORTIONS OF THE PIN EXTEND ARE PREFERABLY CONNECTED BY ELONGATED SLIT OF A SIZE TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF THE PIN PORTION THERETHROUGH WHEREBY IT IS UNNECESSARY TO OPEN THE PIN STRUCTURE TO EFFECT OPERATIVE CONNECTION WITH THE RETAINING MEMBER.

1 F. J. SlTZBERGER 5 DISPLAY BUTTON Filed Nov. 29, 1968 I N VENTOR.

2m ZZZJ United States Patent Ofice 3,559,318 Patented Feb. 2, 1971 3,559,318 DISPLAY BUTTON Frank J. Sitzberger, Oak Brook, 11]., assignor to Adcraft Mfg. Co., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 779,736 Int. Cl. A44c 3/00 US. Cl. 40-15 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display button comprising only two separate components, a pin structure by means of which a button may be attached to a garment or other objects, and a button blank, formed from sufliciently rigid sheet material, having a body portion with a peripheral configuration corresponding to the desired shape of the ultimate display button and a pin retaining member integrally connected with and formed from the same sheet material as the body portion, the pin structure, formed from wire stock having a mounting portion, a pin portion provided with a free pointed end and connected at its opposite end to one end of the mounting portion, the opposite end of the mounting portion having a clasp portion cooperable with the pointed end of the pin structure, said retaining member having openings therein through which the portion of the pin structure connecting the pin portion and the mounting portion, and the clasp portion may extend, said retaining member being folded back at its connection with the body to adjacent the rear face of the latter with the mounting portion of said pin structure disposed between said retaining member and said rear face. The spaced openings through which the respective portions of the pin extend are preferably connected by an elongated slit of a size to permit passage of the pin portion therethrough whereby it is unnecessary to open the pin structure to effect operative connection with the retaining member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 4 Buttons of the type here involved, employing a rigidly connected pin structure, have heretofore employed what is known in the trade as a closed-back button which, as its name implies, employed, in addition to the body of the button carrying the display material, a separate backing or closure member which rigidly anchored the pin structure to the body, such backing member having the same general configuration as the body portion and of a size to permit crimping of the edges of the body portion around the periphery of the backing member to firmly secure the two into a unitary assembly.

In this construction the pin structure was invariably formed from wire stock and comprised a mounting portion connected at one end to a pin portion, the free end of the latter being pointed, with the opposite end of the mounting portion being provided with a transversely extending clasp portion adapted to engage the pointed end of the pin portion. To provide rigidity of the mounted pin structure the mounting portion thereof usually was provided with a serpentine configuration whereby such mounting portion extended a sufiicient distance laterally from the general plane of the pin portion that adequate stability was provided when such mounting portion was disposed between the body of the button and the backing member secured thereto.

In the assembled structure the connecting portion between the pin portion and the mounting portion, as well as the clasp portion, extended outwardly through respective openings in the backing member. In assembling such a button structure the pin structure was first opened to permit insertion of the pointed end of the pin through one of the openings in the backing member following which the clasp portion at the other end of the mounting portion was inserted through the other opening in the backing member and the later then attached to the body of the button.

Obviously, this type of construction materially restricted the configuration of the button body to several relatively closely related shapes, namely round, oval, and generally rectangular shaped designs, due to the inability to effectively and inexpensively crimp the edges of a button having a highly irregular configuration.

The present invention thus is directed to a button construction which eliminates the disadvantages attendant to prior designs, in particular, eliminating the backing member and substantially completely freeing the configuration design of the button from any functional consideration, while at the same time providing an eflicient mounting for the pin structure that will firmly retain the same in operative position, as well as facilitate engagement of the pin structure with the retaining member without the necessity of opening the pin structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes a display button having a body member formed of a single piece of relatively rigid, form-retaining sheet material which is provided with a peripheral configuration corresponding to the desired shape of the finished button. The pin structure is adapted to be mounted in operative position by the use of a retaining member integrally connected with and formed from the same sheet material as the body. The pin structure may be of identical construction to those currently in use in connection with the closed-back type of button, the pin structure being initially engaged with the retaining member which is subsequently folded back at its juncture with the body to adjacent the rear face of the latter, thereby clamping the mounting portion of the pin structure between such rear face and the retaining member.

The retaining member may be provided with spaced openings therein, generally corresponding to similar openings heretofore employed in the backing member of a closed-back button through which the clasp and pin portions of the pin structure extend.

In another feature of the invention the retaining member is provided with a slit which connects the two openings therein, such slit being constructed to permit passage of the pin portion through the retaining member without opening the pin structure and threading it through the respective openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a finished button constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of a portion of the body member forming the button and the remaining member integrally connected thereto;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line IIIIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately on line IVIV of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates generally the body member of a button, illustrated as being of substantially circular configuration having integrally attached thereto a retaining member 2, the latter being formed out of the same sheet material as the body 1 and integrally connected to the latter by a pair of connecting strips 3, the two strips 3 being formed by an arcuate slot 4 which continues the peripheral edge of the body 1 and thus is of the same radius as the remaining edge thereof. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the peripheral edge portions of the body 1 may be stamped or otherwise suitably formed to give the body a generally dish-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the outer convex face thereof forming the display area.

As will be apparent from a reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the pin structure, indicated generally by the reference numeral 5, is of conventional construction such as normally employed with buttons of the closed-back type and comprises a mounting portion 6 having a transversely extending clasp portion 7 at one end thereof and a pin portion 8 pointed at its free end 9 and connected at its opposite end to the opposite end of the mounting portion by several loops 11 of the wire stock forming the pin structure to provide a spring connection between the pin and mounting portions. The clasp portion 7 comprises a generally U-shaped bend in the extreme end of the stock forming the body portion which U-shaped portion is then bent intermediate its ends transversely to the plane of the U to provide a hook-like configuration beneath which the pointed end of the pin may be disposed. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mounting portion 6 is provided with a pair of U-shaped bends therein extending in opposite directions from the original axis of the wire stock and disposed in a plane extending at substantially right angles to the general plane of the pin structure.

The retaining member 2 is provided with a pair of spaced openings 13, illustrated as being circular, of a size to permit passage of the clasp portion 7 and connecting spring portion 11 through respective openings 13, which could be accomplished for examle by opening the pin structure and inserting the pointed end through one of the openings and the clasp portion 7 through the other opening to position the pin structure with respect to the retaining member 2 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

In assembly of the button, the pin structure is engaged with the retaining member 2, for example in the manner heretofore described, and following proper positioning of the mounting portion 6 with respect to the retaining member the latter is bent at the junction of the connecting strips 3 with the body 1 to position the retaining member adjacent the rear face of the body as illustrated in FIG. 1 and in broken lines in FIG. 3, with the mounting portion 6 of the pin structure thereby being firmly clamped between the retaining member and the rear face of the body.

To eliminate the necessity of opening the pin to effect engagement of the pin structure with the retaining member 2 and thereby greatly facilitate the assembly of the structure, the retaining member 2 may be provided with a slit 14 therein which is so proportioned that the pin portion 8 may be passed therethrough without opening the pin, i.e., the pin structure in closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 4, may be disposed with such portion substantially coinciding with the slit 14 and the clasp 7 and connecting spring 11 aligned with the openings 13 whereby upon application of pressure to the pin structure the pin portion may be pressed through the slit 14 bringing the pin structure into the desired assembled relation with respect to the retaining member 2.

Preferably, to insure that the pin structure is retained in operative position in the retaining member 2, follow- 4 ing assembly therewith as illustrated in FIG. 4, the material at opposite sides and opposite ends of the slit 14 may be slightly deformed out of the plane of the retaining member 2 to provide guide means for effecting insertion of the pin portion 8 through the slit 14. Thus, in the construction illustrated, the juncture of the outermost or uppermost edge of the slit 14, as viewed in FIG. 2, with the lefthand opening 13, is bent up slightly as indicated at 15, while the material at the juncture of the opposite edge of the slit 14 and the other opening 13 is similarly bent up as indicated at 16, with the slit being less in width than the diameter of the stock forming the pin portion 8 whereby the pin portion may be forced through the slit by disposing such portion at the slit and giving the pin portion a slight clockwise twist, whereby the left end of the pin portion is cammed downwardly under the portion 15 and the opposite end of the pin portion is likewise cammed downwardly under the portion 16. Obviously, the portions 15 and 16 form a simple means of readily effecting alignment of the pin portion 8 with the slit 14 and rapid insertion of such pin portion through the slit by a slight twist. As the assembly was effected by the application of force between the two elements, once assembled, accidental disassembly through mere relative movement between the respective elements is completely prevented. This feature is of particular advantage where the buttons are to be boxed, shipped, etc., with the retaining member 2 left in its unfolded position as illustrated in FIG. 2, in which case the retaining member would be ultimately bent back upon the body portion by the user prior to pinning the button on a garment or other object.

It will be appreciated from the above disclosure that the pin retaining structure is substantially completely independent of the peripheral configuration of the body 1, merely requiring that the configuration provide adequate points at which the connecting strips may be suitably provided. Thus, while the body 1 is illustrated as being of circular configuration it could be in the shape of an animal, one of the states of the nation or any other irregular configuration. Likewise, not only does this construction eliminate the use of a separate backing member but also it eliminates the attendant crimping operations heretofore employed therewith.

Having thus described my invention it will be obvious therefrom that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A display button comprising a wire pin structure and a single piece of relatively rigid, form retaining sheet material, having a body of a shape corresponding to the desired button configuration, a pin-retaining member integrally connected with and formed from the same sheet material as said body portion, said pin-retaining member being bent back in overlying relation with respect to the rear face of the body, said pin-retaining member having spaced openings therein of a size to receive respective portions of said wire pin structure, the latter having a pointed pin portion and a clasp portion therefor disposed at the outer side of said retaining member, and a mounting portion connecting said pin and clasp portions disposed between said body and said retaining member, said retaining member being provided with a slit therein connecting said spaced openings, the latter being of a size to respectively receive the clasp portion and the intermediate part of the pin structure connecting the pin structure to the mounting portion, said slit being of a size to permit lateral insertion of the pointed pin portion of the pin therethrough.

2. A display button according to claim 1, wherein the retaining member is bent outwardly with respect to the face thereof adjacent the mounting portion at the junction of one edge of the slit with one of said openings, and at the junction of the other edge of the slit with the other of said openings.

3. A display button according to claim 1, wherein said retaining member is connected to said body member by References Cited a pair of spaced strips formed by a slot between the body UNITED STATES PATENTS and the retaining member, the ad acent edge of said slot defining the configuration of the body member thereat 469,529 2/1892 Phare 40-4-5 and forming a continuation of the remaining edges of the 5 1,626,133 4/1927 Day body at the opposite sides of said connecting strips, said strips being bent at their junctions with the body to dis- JEROME SCHNALL Pnmary Exammer pose the retaining member adjacent the rear face thereof. W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner 

